Southern Honor and Evangelical Revival in Edgefield County, South Carolina, 1800-1860" (2007)
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Clemson University: TigerPrints Clemson University TigerPrints All Theses Theses 12-2007 Fighting For Revival: Southern Honor and Evangelical Revival in Edgefield ounC ty, South Carolina, 1800-1860 James Welborn Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses Part of the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Welborn, James, "Fighting For Revival: Southern Honor and Evangelical Revival in Edgefield County, South Carolina, 1800-1860" (2007). All Theses. 276. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/276 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FIGHTING FOR REVIVAL: SOUTHERN HONOR AND EVANGELICAL REVIVAL IN EDGEFIELD COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA, 1800-1860 A Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts History by James Hill Welborn, III December 2007 Accepted by: Dr. Paul Christopher Anderson, Committee Chair Dr. Rod Andrew Dr. Christa Smith ABSTRACT The focus of this work is Edgefield County, South Carolina, a small, rural district in the central-southwest portion of the state. Edgefield has proven indicative of Southern society in general and as a case study has allowed historians to make broader generalizations on the development of Southern culture. This work will show how the seemingly oppositional Southern cultural ethics of honor and Protestant Evangelicalism developed simultaneously and coexisted in Edgefield, emphasizing the aspects of each ethic that reinforced and intensified one another, as well as the resulting public perception of the ethics in tandem. The result will reconcile two overarching historical analyses of the South—one based on the ethos of honor and the other on the evangelical ethos—as well as illuminate the maturation of a broad cultural ethic in Edgefield County that at once personified as well as defied religious and cultural development in Southern history at large. The first chapter will establish the culture of honor as it existed in Edgefield County, and will illustrate the extent to which Edgefield reflected and later epitomized the cultural ethic of Southern honor into which it was born. To achieve this end, Edgefield’s founding and cultural maturation will be placed into the prevailing historical analysis of Southern honor. The result will suggest that Edgefield culture was the embodiment of the Southern ethic of honor as well as highlight specific aspects of the ethic of honor which lent themselves to manipulation and incorporation by the other prevailing cultural ethic in the South, evangelicalism. ii The second chapter will present this other side of the Southern ethic: Protestant evangelical religion. This chapter will document the extent to which Edgefield identified itself culturally with this Protestant ethic and was pioneering in the establishment of Evangelical religion and the ethical values associated therein in the state of South Carolina. Again the development of Edgefield evangelicalism will be placed into the historical analysis of Southern Protestant evangelicalism at large. The emphasis here will be upon the broader evangelical ethic as it came to be employed and understood in the form of religious revival. The nature of the revival and its effects upon both the evangelical religious ethic and society at large will be the focus. The result will illustrate the prevalence of this ethic in the general culture of Edgefield County and highlight the specific characteristics of the evangelical revival that were receptive and adaptive to notions of Southern honor. The final chapter will tie these two cultural ethics together by focusing largely on the public mind of Edgefield itself as well as the aspects of each ethic that upheld the other. In this way, broader conclusions regarding the complexity of Southern cultural development will be expounded. The chapter will show how Southern leadership reconciled two seemingly mutually exclusive cultural ethics—both in rhetoric and action—with the ultimate goal of cultural and social stability. At the same time it will highlight unique aspects of Edgefield County with regard to time and place that allow Edgefield to loom large in the historical narrative of South Carolina and Southern regional cultural analysis. iii DEDICATION For my Mama and Daddy And For Bebbe, You’re always with me iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “If one knows what he wants to do, others will not only not stand in the way but will lend a hand from simple curiosity and amazement.” – Walker Percy These words from Walker Percy certainly describe my experience in completing this work. Once I finally accepted as my path that of a historian, countless people have been instrumental in guiding me along that path. Dr. Paul Anderson has been nothing short of a mentor during this process, giving encouragement while still teaching the tough lessons necessary to realize and appreciate success. Without Dr. Anderson, I may have never begun this work, and certainly would not have completed it to satisfaction. Dr. Rod Andrew and Dr. Christa Smith also provided unique perspective and insight throughout the process, and I am deeply indebted to them as well for their encouragement and on-going interest. I have the deepest respect and affection for the Clemson family, a member of which I have and always will be. Tricia Price Glen has not only given me access to the rich historical sources of Edgefield, but has spent countless hours assisting me in my research, inquiring and listening to my ideas, and lending a perspective only attainable from someone so intimately associated and enamored with Edgefield history. But more than that, in Ms. Glen I have truly found a friend. The Edgefield community at large has been nothing short of spectacular in their acceptance of me and their interest and excitement regarding my work. I am truly proud to be associated with the history of the place these people are so proud to call home. v There are simply no words to describe how much my family has meant to this work. They have been my rock when I needed support and the prod when I needed motivation, but throughout it all they have shown me all the love and support anyone could ever ask for. Everything I have become and everything I have accomplished is due to them, which is a debt I will never be able to repay, and a love words will never fully convey. My future bride was a source of much of the direction of this work, and has been a sounding board probably more often than she had ever imagined. Fully understanding my other passions, she still said yes to an eternity together. She is the one passion that makes all others worthwhile. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE....................................................................................................................i ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................ii DEDICATION................................................................................................................iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................v INTRODUCTION – DUELING ETHICS?.....................................................................1 CHAPTER 1: THE SPIRIT OF EDGEFIELD .....................................................11 2: EVANGELICAL EDGEFIELD ....................................................39 3: THE RHYTHM OF OLD EDGEFIELD.......................................66 CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................88 REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................90 vii viii INTRODUCTION DUELING ETHICS? Southerners managed to balance the tensions between masculinity and evangelicalism fairly well during the antebellum period. The nature of Southern life enabled men to take both sides, embracing masculine competitiveness while still respecting evangelical self- control. 1 The historical narrative as it relates broadly to the American South has generally taken one of two perspectives—one focusing on Southern tendencies toward violence and honor, the other examining the so-called “Bible-Belt” and the pervasiveness of evangelical religion. The two appear to be contradictory even at a superficial glance, but upon further review of the historiography, the dichotomy becomes even more dramatic. Until recently, historians themselves have tended to remain true to these contradictory perspectives when studying the South. When bridging the apparent gap at all, historians have treaded lightly, and the majority of the historical narrative has been ambiguous as to the relationship between these cultural ethics. Edgefield County, South Carolina has proven a fertile field for historical inquiry into a plethora of historical topics, and the county’s history itself provides much historical interest. Edgefield developed a reputation for violence early in its history, long before the county had become officially incorporated in 1785. Early periods of violence which lent to this reputation began with recurring conflicts between